The 71st Hunger Games (May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour)
by lollylovexx
Summary: Welcome to the 71st Hunger Games. Where anything can happen. Meet Tigress Sparrow and Trey Young, District 4's tributes, as they battle it out during the Hunger Games. The fight for survival is on!
1. Fishing

Chapter 1: Fishing

"Psst…Psst…Tiger…Tigress!" I know that voice.

I peeled my eyes open, and saw the dazzling smile I never get tired of seeing.

"Hey Ty" I replied, sitting up and hugging him

"Nice hair" he snickered, running a hand through my bushy-morning hair, his fingers getting caught in the knots at the ends

"Shut up" I smiled, pushing him lightly as I stood up and headed to my small Chester drawers "What time is it?"

"5am, ready to go fishing. Spokes will be there at 7 so we have to hurry" Ty explained, pointing to one of the two outfits I held up and turning around so I could get changed in private.

Spokes is the owner of the fishing lake we work at. Work starts at 7:30am, but all the fish we catch goes to the market so Ty and I sneak in extra early to catch some fish for our families. The two of us live on the outskirts of District 4, with our families and other fishermen.

Ty and I have been best friends since the day the both of us started working for Spokes. We were the only newbies so we stuck together, and we've been close ever since.

"Finished" I assured him, allowing him to turn back around as I brushed out my hair and tied it up into a basic ponytail "Ready?"

"Ready"

The two of us snuck out of my bedroom window and down the same path we travel every morning and night. It was unusually cold this morning so we decided to run most of the way to keep ourselves warm. When we reached the entrance to the lake, we climbed over the closed metal gate, and continued down the small path till we reached the fishing lake. The two of us walked over to the small shed, embedded in the trees and opened the door.

"Ladies first" Ty said, standing to one side, allowing me to get first pick on the fishing tools.

"Thanks" I looked at the shelves of tools and went with a spear and a small net

"Not very lady-like Miss Sparrow" Ty smirked, taking two spears for himself and leading us back to the lake

"Whatever" I smiled, taking off my shoes and socks, then rolling my trousers up to my knees then wading into the knee-height water.

I looked down at the crystal blue water, burying my toes into the golden-brown mud, searching for the small schools of fish the usually swim by.

"See anything?" Ty wondered

"Not yet, they're probably all hiding" I said

"I wonder if they can sense that it's the day of the reaping"

The Reaping happens once a year, every year. It's when one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts are chosen to compete for survival in the Hunger Games. It's a fight to the death. Only one person can leave the games alive, the others must die. And all of this…everything, every moment, every second…Is televised worldwide. Everyone sees everything.

"Maybe" I sighed, spotting a hint of colour out of the corner of my eye "Fish" I tip-toed as close as I could then waited for the right moment before throwing the net; capturing half a dozen fish, the rest managing to escape.

I walked over to the net and scooped up the corners, holding it like a sack.

"Here" Ty shouted, standing with his palms out in front of him, so I threw the new, letting him knock the fish unconscious against a nearby rock.

We caught several more fish then put our tools away.

"We still have an hour left before Spokes arrives; fancy a dip in the lake?" Ty asked, looking up at the sun's position

"Sure" I smiled, watching him walk to the edge; his back towards me.

Just as he was pulling his boots off, I crept up behind him and pushed his lower back, making him topple forward, head-first into the water. I waited for him to resurface but he never came up.

"Ty?" I asked, watching for air bubbles "Ty! Ty!" I ran to the edge of the lake, pulling my top, bottoms and boots off before diving into the spine-chilling water.

I swam deeper and deeper, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dark depths. Then I saw a hint of dark brown, the same as Ty's hair colour. I carried on swimming until I reached the bed of the lake, seeing Ty sitting on the dirt, legs and arms crossed, a smile on his face when he noticed me. I sighed with relief even though I had the urge to slap him right now. My eyebrows scrunched up as bubbles began floating from Ty's mouth. He was laughing. Laughing at me.

I huffed, which forced bubbles to fly out of my nose, then begun swimming to the surface, Ty following behind me. As my head appeared above the surface of the water, I flung back my wet hair and pulled myself onto the edge of the lake, folding my arms and legs.

"You should have seen you face!" Ty laughed, floating on his back clutching his stomach

"Not funny, I'd thought you'd drowned" I scowled, pouting a little as my face flushed red with anger

"Aw, I'm sorry kitty" he smiled softly, knowing that if he called me that, I'd let him off the hook. That's what I hate most about him. I can't stay mad at him and he knows that and takes full advantage of it.

He pulled himself up beside me, and wrapped an arm around me.

"Come on, forgive me" he pouted, looking at me with those big brown eyes

"No" I insisted, looking away from him

"Kitty…look at me" Ty said. I know he's smiling by the ring in his voice.

"No" I said, but with less anger

"…Kitty…" he whispered in my ear. I slowly turned my head, my eyes instantly looking into his "Forgive me" he said, sticking his bottom his bottom out and fluttering his eyelashes.

"…Fine…" I sighed "I forgive you"

"Yey!" Ty squealed, standing up and holding out a hand "You coming for a swim or not?"

"Yeah" I smiled, taking his hand and standing up.

I stepped back for a sec, as Ty pulled his soaking wet shirt over his head. Mother of God. I've never seen anybody so muscular. His abs were so defined you could grate cheese on them.

"Like what you see?" Ty asked, suddenly facing me; a smirk on his face

"Huh…oh what…no" I lied, snapping back to reality

"Mmhmm, yeah alright then" he chuckled, taking a running start and executing a perfect dive into the lake

"Show off!" I shouted, running to the edge and cannon-balling in, landing beside Ty

"You know…Most girls would try and do a perfect dive but the smarter girl knows that the cannonball is so much more fun" Ty smiled, turning to look at me just as my cheeks flushed pink "So…" he paused, leaning back onto the surface of the water so he floated on his back, his hands behind his head "You nervous?"

"About the reaping? Most definitely" I confessed

"Don't be" Ty ordered

"I'll try, but…I don't feel like fighting for my life. Knowing me, I'd probably die in the bloodbath right at the start"

"No you wouldn't"

"Yeah I would, then who would provide for my family, they'd die without me"

"Stop it will you!" Ty snapped, dropping his legs and coming to stand in front of me, taking hold of my wrists "First of all, I've seen the way you can handle a spear, you'd kill anyone within fifty-metres of you, second of all, even if you didn't win I'd provide for your family, and three, you haven't even been picked yet so quit worrying, there's a million-to-one chances of your name coming out of that glass bowl"

"…" I was purely stunned. Ty had never said anything like that to me before. I was trying to reply but the words just wouldn't come out. I looked at my wrists, his hands still firmly clasped around them, his knuckles turning white from the strain. I tried to move my hands away but he wouldn't let me move; instead he pulled our hands closer to his heaving chest. I wanted to look away from his piercing brown eyes, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. If this is the last time that the two of us would be together, then I'd want to spend every last second of it like this. This was perfect. His shaggy chocolate brown hair, clinging to his forehead. His golden-brown skin, glistening from the water-residue. Water droplets hanging from the tips of his eyelashes. His muscles bulging and in full view.

"Oi!"

The two of us instantly turned our heads towards the voice. It was Spokes, our boss.

"What are you two doing here; you're not supposed to be here before working hours!"

The two of us didn't think twice before running out of the lake, and quickly getting redressed; Ty tying the bag of fish to his belt strap.

"Sorry Spokes" we apologised, sprinting back down the path we'd arrived on, until we reached our town square


	2. Mara Li

"Well he's not gonna be pleased with us, is he?" Ty chuckled as if it was a joke

"No...Did you really mean what you said earlier?" I asked, standing on a spot

"…Yes…Why would I lie?" Ty wondered

"I don't know…maybe-" I stopped "Is that Mara Li?" I pointed to a teenage girl, rushing through the town square in what looked like a hurry "Mara!"

"Who called m-" she turned around and spotted me, almost sighing with relief "There you are, I was just on the way to-" she paused, once she'd noticed Ty beside me "Could we have a word in private please?" she asked him. He nodded then walked over to a nearby stall.

Mara Li won the 67th Hunger Games at the age of just 12. We're not sure how she won, but she did it. Now, at the 16 she is one of the youngest District 4 victors and also one of the mentors for future tributes competing in the games. No-one knows this, but the two of us are cousins. Only our families know about our relationship, I haven't even told Ty, that's how big a secret it is. No-one can find out, otherwise me and my siblings would have a greater chance of getting picked to participate in the games.

Mara has fair skin, with pale teal eyes. Thick, Dark red locks which reach right down to her lower back, and pale freckles dotted across her nose. Even though she's two years older than me, she's not much taller; I'd say about half an inch difference between us.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I questioned, making sure no-one was nearby. She took hold of my arm and pulled me round a corner to an empty road.

"I was just on my way to your house, to wish you the best of luck in the Reaping today. I've prayed and prayed that neither you nor your brothers get picked but I can only hope that the odds are in your favour. If I don't see you there, I want you to take this…" she held out a long hair grip, with silver gemstones stuck along the silver surface, a small golden rose sitting in the centre.

"This is-"

"I know. Take good care of it" she smiled. This was the clip she wore in the 67th Hunger games. She wore it from the very start to the very finish, I even catch her now walking around with it on, wearing it with pride.

"Thank you" I said, throwing my arms around her

"You're welcome" Mara replied, returning the hug "I've gotta run, wish your brothers good luck. And I should see you when the Reaping's over, hopefully you won't get picked. Bye" she added, rushing back in the direction she'd come from.

I looked down at the clip, running my thumb over the gemstones, the sun causing the rose to glint every once in a while. I slipped the hair clip into my back pocket then ran to find Ty. It wasn't too difficult being as he always visits the same stall whenever he gets the chance. I walked over to the music stall, seeing Ty strumming a few notes on a blue acoustic guitar, and jumped beside him, making him stumble back with surprise.

"Woah, where did you come from?" he laughed, hanging the guitar back up on its hook

"My mother, come on lets go, we need to get ready for the Reaping. It's gonna start soon" I explained, taking his hand and dragging him down the road to where my house was

"See you later" Ty added, handing me the sack of fish before carrying on down the road to his house.


	3. Preparation

I knocked on the door, waiting a few seconds until it opened, my red-eyed mum standing in the doorway.

"Have you been crying?" I asked, looking at the black rim under her eyes

"…yeah…" she confessed, looking down in shame

"Why?"

"Same reason every year. The Reaping. I just can't stand the thought of either of my children being picked for the Hunger Games"

Even though my mother, Teresa, was much older than me, I still towered over her; her small build of 5ft 2 was no match for my build of 5ft 6. Personally, I don't see much resemblance between me and my mum. She has blood red hair, the same as her sister's (Mara's mum), whereas I have mud brown like my Dad. She has pale skin, I have golden. She's short, I'm tall. The only thing that matches between us, are our beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

"Who's at the door?" I heard my Dad, Gaius, shout from inside the house

"Tigress"

"Tigress" My brothers echoed, both of them running to the door, pulling my mother out of the way.

My brothers Thor and Nate are both in their last year before their names are no longer entered in the Reaping. Both of them are 18 years old, with my skin, hair and eye colour, and are way over 6ft tall with stocky builds.

"There you are" Nate sighed, smacking his forehead with his hand in relief

"We've been looking everywhere for you, the Reaping starts in an hour and…look at you" Thor cringed, looking my muddy wet outfit, up and down

"Thanks bro" I scowled, pushing past the two of them and into the living room where I found my Dad sitting on an arm chair

"Finally, where have you been?" he questioned standing up from his seat. I lifted up the bag of fish and he nodded. "Fair enough, but hurry up and get ready. Your mother will help you" Dad added, signalling my mum over.

She pushed me into the bathroom where a steaming hot bath tub lay, and a set of clothes were draped over the back of a nearby wooden chair. Mother tugged on my hairband until my soggy mane of hair fell loose down my back, raking her fingers through my hair to relieve it of any knots, then tugged off my jacket and hung it on the warm radiator. She led me over to the chair and sat me down, pulling off my boots and socks, hanging them too on the radiator, before pulling me back onto my feet; ordering me to take off my top and bottoms. I did as I was told then handed her my sodden clothes. She hung them on the radiator, and then left without another word.

I figured she was gonna leave me to it, so I pulled off the rest of my clothing then stepped into the bathtub. It was so hot, but so soothing on my freezing bones. I sat down then slipped underwater, allowing the steaming liquid to run over to my face. I sat back and looked for some kind of soap. I saw a small rectangular lime green bar at the end of the tub and assumed that was what I was supposed to use. I picked it up and held it in my hands, it smelt like apples to me. I held it under water for a few seconds and rubbed the surface of the soap bar until it started to disintegrate, then cleaned my body down, and then my hair.

Once I was clean, I stepped out of the bathtub and dried myself down with a towel, before pulling on my underwear. I lifted up the outfit that lay draped on the back of the chair, and hung it on a hook. I took the hem of the dress in my hands and pulled it towards me. Ugh. Did I really have to wear that? It was hideous. It was beige in colour, with short puffed sleeves and a sash around the waist; causing the material around it to gather.

Below the sash was a heavily pleated skirt; too many pleats for my liking. I dropped the hem of the dress with a sigh, and then walked back over to the chair, picking up a pair of white knee-length socks, and black polished shoes.

I set them below the dress, then took the dress off of the hook; holding it by the shoulders as if it were a dead animal. I undid the button at the back of the neck, and pulled the dress over my head, until my entire body was covered in the ugly material. I pulled on my socks and shoes and left the room.

I walked into the centre of the room so that my family could get a good view, and then turned to my mother. She walked behind me and did up he button before stepping back in front of me. She smiled up at me, but I could tell her heart was aching by the wateriness in her eyes. I bent over to hug her but she held my shoulders back. I raised an eyebrow. She gestured to my dripping wet hair. I nodded.

Thor pulled a stool over to us and forced me to sit on it. Nate then handed our mum a towel and a hairbrush. Before I could say anything, my entire head and face were covered in the heavy cotton towel. I could feel hands scrubbing away on my hair, trying to make it as dry as possible. I wanted to complain that it was actually hurting, but I decided to keep quiet.

After my head had been viciously man-handled for several minutes, the towel was removed and I could see once again. I looked over at my brothers, both of them falling about laughing. I scowled, so Nate passed me a mirror. I looked at my hair in the reflection. Oh Lord Jesus Christ, what did I look like? A lion. That's what I looked like. My thick brown hair sprung away from my head in the un-sightliest fashion.

"Just ignore them" Mum whispered in my ear. I nodded in agreement.

Once the laughs hand finished, mother began to brush out my hair; each stroke starting at the front of my head and finishing at the end of my locks. When all the knots were gone, mum brushed my hair into a high-ponytail; allowing my curls to hang down my back, then added an emerald ribbon around the hairband.

"Perfect" My Dad smiled, standing up from his arm chair "My little girl's all grown up"

"Dad" I whined, even though I was smiling

"Sorry sweetie" he apologised

"Come on sis, the Reaping's in ten minutes" Thor reminded, him and Nate standing by the door

"…Okay…" I sighed, turning to my mum

"Don't worry sweetie, we'll be there as soon as we can" she explained, kissing my forehead, my dad doing the same

"Bye" I said, leading my brothers out of the house.


End file.
